It's critical that Congress make DACA permanent

Immigrants and supporters march on the Las Vegas Strip during a Sept. 10 rally to oppose President Donald Trump’s order to end the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Immigrants and supporters march on the Las Vegas Strip during a Sept. 10 rally to oppose President Donald Trump’s order to end the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The decision is misguided and unnecessarily punishes hundreds of thousands of bright, young law-abiding youths who were brought to this country as children and are contributing members of our nation.

This is indeed a sad day for our nation. Rescinding DACA is a heartless and senseless decision that will cause widespread and devastating impact on young people, their families, communities and our society. Terminating DACA goes against American core values of human decency, equity and diversity. Those who have benefited from this program now live in fear that they will lose jobs and educational opportunities, and will see their families torn apart.

Playing politics and passing the buck to Congress with nearly 1 million people is particularly cynical and demonstrates a lack of moral leadership. Martin Luther King Jr. once said that there is a time to do what is politic and there's a time to do what is right.

Muslims of the Lehigh Valley hope and pray that in the coming months Congress will pass comprehensive immigration reform, including making the DACA program permanent.